I know what you mean about getting out the police tape to protect your clean spots.

Before my son's graduation party I was tempted to take my family to a hotel so the house would stay clean! LOL

Acutally, I would go ahead a tape off that bathroom if it's the ones the inlaws will be using. The family will survive.

I know you've said you've tried Flylady before, but now that the house has had some decluttering and a good cleaning, this is the time to get going on a system or you will be right back where you were within a couple of weeks.

I've got 4 kids, a part-time job and a 3,000 sq. ft. house and I can honestly say it takes me about 45 min. a day to keep us in pretty good order. I break it up before and after work. The biggest thing is that pick-up time everyday. Can't clean easily if you have to stop and pick up crud. With the house now clean, it would be sooo easy just to start in on the zone system.

Give it a thought to maybe trying again if you would really like for the house to stay in this condition. And congrats on a big job. I know it's kept you busy.

Gloria

I still have miles to go with this. Nowhere near done.

But I get what you're saying and I agree. I'm hoping to really do this again once the visit is over...

4400 square feet. 38 windows with blinds (I hate blinds)...When we bought this house a year ago, I fully intended upon having cleaning help (like with the windows, etc). But three months into it, DH's new 'fabulous job' laid him off. Being unemployed until recently, 'help' wasn't about to happen. And I've had long stretches of moving too slowly as a reaction to all of that, kwim? That's one of the reasons why I'm paying so heavily right now. That and some deep-seated bad habits with things like paper...

congrats on the progress, and I hear you on the blinds.

I don't have 38--just 9. And that's intimidating enough.

i think I'm seriously going to send those out.

"38 windows with blinds (I hate blinds)..."

I have a lot of windows and they all have blinds-2" wood to be exact. I have been using our shop vac with the brush attachment and it works great! You just tilt the blinds down so they aren't completely closed, but most of the surface area is exposed, then gently lift each blind and run over the surface of the blind below from one end to the other. Takes the dust right off and it really doesn't take all that long. I have some HUGE windows (10 feet wide by 7 feet tall) and I can do one of them in Hope this helps, what I've been doing is cleaning blinds as a 'special' on my weekly cleaning. It's too overwhelming to do all of them at one time so I do a window or two each week.

Ann

In the previous house I ignored the blinds for numerous years. Just would try and occasionally dust. Oh my.

For my birthday one year, I asked the DH to have all the blinds professionally cleaned and windows washed. At first he said sure, just set it up. I'm like, no. The birthday part is YOU set it up and have them come while I'm at work. Like him writing the check is a gift? I could do that.

Here, we have the cheap plastic blinds in some bedrooms and they were easy to throw in the tub and soak, but I'll be glad to get rid of those, if and when, I ever get some curtains up.

Gloria

I don't know if these things are cheap or not. Two inch plastic that I had no idea that weren't wood until I tried to clean them! LOL

Hate cleaning them with a passion.

Most of them are for windows that are much longer than they are wide. I've been doing them in a laundry tub, 1/2 at a time. (Dunk one end, soak and scrub, then flip them around and do it again.)

I have one set that just won't fit. Going to have to try a bathtub with that one.

I've been using one of those 'ultimate duster cloths'. The dust on some just wipes off. On others where windows are sometimes open to the elements, they're stickier and actually dirty, so I'm scrubbing with it.

The truly nasty ones, I'm soaking in detergent and bleach water. Had ten of those.

And someday I'm going to replace the bulk of these puppies with other window coverings. Ones that I can either wash in a machine or send to a dry cleaners. Blinds are for the birds!

I like the idea of that for a birthday present! Unfortunately my birthday isn't until April. LOL

Here in NYC, they get *soot* on them--vacuuming along doesn't do it. I wish it would; that'd be easier.

You need a serious degreaser, here.

Ours are metal, which is good--they block more light that way. I've just taken to wondering if they'd steam clean, now that I have a steamer. Of course, I don't want to risk ruining them by rusting them out, or something.

I actually like blinds for "light with privacy." I can set them to slant down and in, and then:
-the folks directly across from me (remember I'm in an apt.) can't see in
-the folks slightly below can't see in
-the folks slight above CAN, but they can only see the floor.
-the sun can shine in.

So, for those reasons, I like blinds. I just don't like how grungy they get--and i'm not going to tell you how long it's been since they were REALLY cleaned!

Gad, they're such a pain. I thought that I was 'done' and then this am "look A WINDOW I MISSED". @@

I ran out of time. I crammed a single closet full before their arrival today. I swore that I would never do that again, but I did. :P

Guess what gets to be my project after they leave?

Argh!